BenQ unveils K60 nReader

Posted in BenQ by Conner Flynn on November 19th, 2009

BenQ unveils K60 nReaderBenQ is hitting the e-Book market with the nReader K60. The device has a 6-inch touchscreen e-paper display that uses SiPix Microcup technology to produce a native resolution of 800 x 600 pixels with 167 dots-per-inch and 16 grey scale.

The nReader K60 features 2GB of storage, which will hold roughly 4000 books and if you ned more it’s got a microSD card slot for more storage. Some other features include WiFi, a mini USB port, USB 2.0 port and a 3.5mm audio jack. The K60 supports a variety of file formats including ePub, PDF, TXT, HTML, JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, and MP3.

Readius-like ereader launching in 2010

Posted in ebooks by Conner Flynn on November 12th, 2009

Readius-like ereader launching in 2010We’ve been waiting for this one for awhile. Remember that bendable Readius ebook reader we showed you back in January of 2008 from Polymer Vision? Sadly for this bendy device it suffered delays which then turned into bankruptcy and dashed our hopes.

Now however it’s Wistron’s turn. According to Brian Chong, head of Wistron’s product planning, a similarly designed 5-to-6 inch device with a pull-out flexible e-paper display will launch in 2010. We can’t wait to see what the finished device includes.

Dulin PocketBook 301+ and PocketBook 360 eReaders now available in US

Posted in ebooks by Shane McGlaun on November 9th, 2009

pocketbook360-sgMany are predicting that some of the most popular gadgets this holiday season will be eReaders. With a wealth of new devices like the Kindle, Nook and others on the market, many will find a new eReader under the tree this year. Dulin is now offering a couple new eReaders in America.

The readers are the Pocketbook 360 with a 5-inch e-ink Vizplex display and a 400Mhz Samsung processor. Memory for the device is expandable to 32GB and it comes in black or ivory colors. The PocketBook 301+ is very similar.

Spring Design sues Barnes & Noble over Nook eReader

Posted in ebooks by Shane McGlaun on November 3rd, 2009

springdesignereaderYou might recall that sweet Android-powered eBook reader from Spring Design called the Alex that we talked about last month. Spring Design has filed a suit against Barnes & Noble over its recently announced Nook eReader for alleged IP infringement.

According to Spring, it was in talks with Barnes & Noble to partner to distribute the Alex when executives at Barnes & Noble misappropriated the trade secrets and violated the non-disclosure agreements in place between the two firms. Spring claims that Barnes & Noble made no indications of using the features of the Alex reader in its own product until the Nook was officially announced.

Creative unveils plans for Zii MediaBook

Posted in Creative by Shane McGlaun on November 2nd, 2009

creativeziimediabook-sgThe eBook market is quickly getting as hot as the netbook market with new eReader coming to market all the time. Over the last few weeks, the Kindle has had its price cut and Barnes & Noble has announced the Nook. Today Creative has announced plans to bring its Zii MediaBook to market.

The MediaBook will be a touch screen device with a color screen that offers much more media functionality than existing products reports Creative. The MediaBook will let users surf the net, access Twitter, and Facebook.

ECTACO unveils jetBook-Lite eBook reader

Posted in ebooks by Shane McGlaun on October 28th, 2009

jetbooklite-sgMost of the eBook readers on the market have a lot in common. They have the same types of screens and sell for very similar prices. The Barnes & Noble Nook has that color screen and the Kindle has 3G connectivity with both selling for $259. A new eReader from a company called ECTACO was announced today with a significantly lower price of $149.

The reader is called the jetBook-Lite and it sports a 5-inch screen and gets power from normal AA batteries rather than a rechargeable. The device can read the eReader DRM file format that Barnes & Noble uses in its online bookstore.

Spring Design’s Alex eReader rocks Android, with dual displays

Posted in ebooks by Conner Flynn on October 19th, 2009

Spring Design's Alex eReader rocks Android, with dual displays  The Alex looks similar to the Android-powered Barnes & Noble reader, but this one sports a 6-inch display using monochrome e-ink (not color), but it also has a secondary 3.5-inch color touchscreen that lets you browse the Web.

Yeah, VERY similar to that Barnes and Noble reader. Spring Design claims that it’s “enlisting major content partners, and plans to release the Alex for selected strategic partners by the end of this year.” Interesting.

Sony offers pink gear to support breast cancer research

Posted in Sony by Shane McGlaun on October 2nd, 2009

sonypinkvaiow-sgIt’s Breast Cancer Awareness month and to support the search for a cure to breast cancer many companies in the consumer electronic market are offering donations of part of the proceeds from some of the items they sell. The money donated will help support cancer research.

As you might expect most of the electronic devices that are part of the breast cancer awareness push from companies are pink. Sony announced a couple pink products today including the Pink W Series netbook bundle and the Rose Reader Pocket Edition.

Asus eBook with dual-color displays for $165

Posted in ebooks by Conner Flynn on September 7th, 2009

Asus eBook with dual-color displays for $165Here’s an interesting eBook from Asus dubbed the eee-Book, sporting two color displays that lets you flip the pages like you would on a real book. Think of it as a large Nintendo DS on it’s side. You can also browse the web on one of the displays, presumably while reading on the other.

It connects using 3G or Wifi, comes with a memory card slot and supports Skype audio/video conferencing. The price is a really nice $165. Look out Kindle! That’s about all the info we have right now, but we like what we see.

Astak 5-inch EZ Reader Pocket Pro debuts

Posted in ebooks by Shane McGlaun on August 10th, 2009

astakreader-sbEReaders are starting to really take off thanks to the Amazon Kindle. The big catch is that most of the readers on the market lack the key Kindle feature that makes it so popular, namely wireless connectivity.

Astak has announced a new 5-inch Pocket Pro eReader that will retail for $199. That sub-$200 range is thought to be the sweet spot for eReaders. The device also supports Adobe DRM PDF files along with 20 other open source formats. The 5-inch screen supports 8-levels of gray scale.

Plastic Logic eReader to use AT&T 3G network

Posted in Plastic Logic by Shane McGlaun on July 23rd, 2009

plasticlogicreader-sbWhen the Amazon Kindle launched one of the coolest features of the device was the free and lifetime access to the 3G mobile network allowing users to grab new books anywhere they are. All new versions of the Kindle have offered free data connectivity as well.

Many are waiting for Plastic Logic to launch its eReader to battle the Kindle. Few details are known about the Plastic Logic reader itself at this point, but the company announced what mobile data service will be used this week.

iRex announces new 1000 series eReaders

Posted in iRex by Shane McGlaun on September 23rd, 2008

iRex 1000 Series eReaderI like to read and I could see myself buying the Amazon Kindle reader with its slick built-in Internet connectivity. It would be cool to be able to download new books without having to run to the bookstore to pick one out. Right now though, I think the Kindle is still overpriced.

iRex has announced three new eReaders called the 1000S, 1000SW, and wireless connectivity 1000SW. All of the readers have the same 10.2-inch screen that looks like paper. The readers also include a Wacom Penabled touch screen.





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